§ 498.103 Amount of penalty. ( a ) Under § 498.102(a), the Office of the Inspector General may impose a penalty of not more than $5,000 for each false statement or representation, omission, or receipt of payment or benefit while withholding disclosure of a material fact.
( b ) Under § 498.102(b), the Office of the Inspector General may impose a penalty of not more than $5,000 against a representative payee for each time the representative payee receives a payment under title II, title VIII, or title XVI of the Social Security Act for the use and benefit of another individual, and who converts such payment, or any part thereof, to a use that such representative payee knew or should have known was other than for the use and benefit of such other individual.
( c ) Under § 498.102(c), the Office of the Inspector General may impose a penalty of not more than $5,000 for each violation resulting from the misuse of Social Security Administration program words, letters, symbols, or emblems relating to printed media and a penalty of not more than $25,000 for each violation in the case that such misuse related to a broadcast or telecast.
( d ) Under § 498.102(d), the Office of the Inspector General may impose a penalty of not more than $5,000 for each violation resulting from insufficient notice relating to printed media regarding products or services provided free of charge by the Social Security Administration and a penalty of not more than $25,000 for each violation in the case that such insufficient notice relates to a broadcast or telecast.
( e ) For purposes of paragraphs (c) and (d) of this section, a violation is defined as— ( 1 ) In the case of a mailed solicitation, advertisement, or other communication, each separate piece of mail which contains one or more program words, letters, symbols, or emblems or insufficient notice related to a determination under § 498.102(c) or (d); and
( 2 ) In the case of a broadcast or telecast, each airing of a single commercial or solicitation related to a determination under § 498.102(c) or (d).
( f ) [Reserved]
( g ) ( 1 ) The amount of the penalties described in paragraphs (a) through (d) of this section are the maximum penalties which may be assessed under these paragraphs for violations made after June 16, 2006, but before August 1, 2016.
( 2 ) ( i ) After August 1, 2016 penalties are adjusted in accordance with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101-410), as amended by the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-134), as further amended by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, Section 701: Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (Section 701 of Pub. L. 114-74).
( ii ) The maximum penalties which may be assessed under this section is the larger of: ( A ) The amount for the previous calendar year; or
( B ) An amount adjusted for inflation, calculated by multiplying the amount for the previous calendar year by the percentage by which the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers for the month of October preceding the current calendar year exceeds the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers for the month of October of the calendar year two years prior to the current calendar year, adding that amount to the amount for the previous calendar year, and rounding the total to the nearest dollar.
( iii ) Notice of the maximum penalty which may be assessed under this section for calendar years after 2016 will be published in the Federal Register on an annual basis on or before January 15 of each calendar year.
[71 FR 28580, May 17, 2006, as amended at 81 FR 41440, June 27, 2016]